KDBookOnline
Share Us
“What do we do?” he asked as our eyes met. I looked up to find Roark chewing on his lip ring, looking more ruffled than I’d ever seen him.
I tipped my head to where my hands were pumping the man’s chest. “Do this as hard as you fucking can without killing him.” I glanced up. “And you might want to get everybody out of the VIP room upstairs before the police start asking questions.”
Lachlan nodded for Roark to do as I said before taking over. I waited just long enough to make sure he had it, then shoved to my feet, running for the bar where the cop was digging through the first aid kit. Sweat coated his forehead, and he scrambled out of my way. My practiced fingers rummaged through the spilled contents until I found the pouch. I ripped it open as I ran back.
“He’s barely breathing,” Lachlan said grimly as I knelt next to him. He sat back on his heels to give me room.
Reaching over, I tilted the man’s head back and carefully administered the emergency medication. I hovered over the linebacker and said a prayer to whoever was listening.
“What now?” Lachlan asked.
“We wait.”
A comforting, warm weight settled on my thigh, his hand an anchor as I counted the seconds until I needed to give a second dose. The linebacker’s eyes fluttered, and I sagged a little as he drew a shallow breath. A few of the people around us began to clap, but I closed my eyes. No one was a hero tonight.
Shouts at the door announced the arrival of the EMTs. Lachlan shot to his feet, helping me to mine. He didn’t release my hand as the emergency crew rushed to join us. Nor did he speak as one of them began asking questions, the other starting oxygen. I ran them through what I knew, which wasn’t much other than that it had the hallmarks of a trinity overdose. We stepped out of the way as they raised the gurney.
One of the techs paused just long enough to look from me to Lachlan. “You probably saved his life.”
Lachlan stiffened.
I pulled away and faced him, questions forming as I realized he was dressed for business but his jacket was off, the collar of his dress shirt undone, no holsters in sight. What was he doing here? I didn’t have time to ask questions, so I focused on right now. I didn’t know when I’d begun to shake, but now anger unfurled through me. “That is what your drug does.”
I waited for him to say it wasn’t his drug or to give me some excuse that he was finding a better alternative. He didn’t. He only nodded. Maybe that accountability didn’t fix this mess, but it was a start. I was about to tell him that when I looked up to find the police officer studying Lachlan with an intensity that turned my blood to ice. He looked positively rabid, as if he was already imagining the commendations he would receive for nailing Lachlan Gage at the scene of an overdose. Apparently, Lachlan didn’t own every officer on the force. I doubted he would go peacefully, and there were plenty of innocent people who might get caught in the cross fire.
“Get out of here,” I muttered, stepping in front of Lachlan to block the officer’s line of sight.
“I should—”
I cut him off, my teeth clenched. “I’d get out of here if you don’t want to walk out in cuffs.”
Darkness curled like smoke in his eyes, his mouth pressing into a hard line.
“Before you lose your glamour,” I added, worried that more than shadows might slip past it soon.
“I can handle them—”
That was exactly what I was worried about.
“I can handle them,” I stopped him. “You saved a life tonight. Get out of here before you take one.”
Tendons strained in his neck as we glared at each other. Finally, he inclined his head ever so slightly, eyes drifting to my necklace. “You know how to get back.”
I waited until he turned on his heels and started toward the back of the club before I spun to the bar. The officer was speaking into his walkie-talkie, and my heart lurched. Taking a deep breath, I strode toward him, mustering a smile.
“Thank you for letting me help him.” I fluttered my eyelashes like I’d seen Ciara do countless times.
But he looked past me to the corridor Lachlan had disappeared into. “Where’s your friend?”
“Him?” Fluttering wasn’t working, so I widened my eyes, glancing behind me like I was surprised. “I have no idea who that was. He just showed up.”
His brows knitted together, and he pulled out a pad of paper. “And what is your name?”
“Cate,” I said, adrenaline sinking into dread as his pen scratched my name onto the paper. “I work at Gage Memorial.”
The pen stopped. He lifted it to his forehead and used the end to scratch under the brim of his hat. “You really don’t know who that was?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “Just some guy who helped me save a life.”